Thiruvananthapuram: Former forest minister and senior CPI leader Binoy Viswam on Tuesday launched a frontal attack on power minister M.M. Mani asking CPM leadership to educate him on Marxist view on environment protection. Viswam attacked Mani in the wake the latter’s allegations against CPI in connection with the move to check encroachments in Neelakurinji sanctuary. The senior CPM leader from Idukki had accused the CPI ministers of taking money from encroachers.
The CPI leader accused Mani of speaking the language of big corporates who are only interested in commercialisation of land for making huge profit. Those who lose balance and speak obscene language on hearing the word “environment” are basically encroachers. The former minister warned that encroachers and land mafia would not be allowed to encroach land in Western Ghats in the name of poor tribals. The tribals and other poor sections who stay at one place and cultivate land in other areas have to be protected.
He recalled that during his tenure as forest minister, the then CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had written to him seeking protection for tribals and other poor sections living in Vattavada and Kotakamboor villages. The land belonging to these sections would not exceed 500 acres, he added. Binoy said the V S Achuthanandan government had declared Neelakurinji sanctuary to protect Vattavada and Kottakamboor from encroachers. The former minister said those having legal title deeds need not worry. However, the encroachers have to be removed from the area irrespective of their political affiliations.
